Fishing-rod.



PATENTB'D MAR. 28, 1905.

W. R. WHEELER.

FISHING HOD.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG.1o,19o4.

@Zljentaivo. 785,845.

UNITED STATES PATENT Patented March as, 1905.

OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. WHEELER, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE ANGLERSCOMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

FISHING-ROD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent N o. 785,845, dated March28, 1905.

Application iiled August l0, 1904:. Serial No. 220,218.

To LU zij/1,0711, it may concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM R. WHEELER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Fishing-Rod, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to the whipping of fishing-rods, and isparticularly applicable to ro built-up rods of the split-bamboo type;but

it is also useful for whipping and strengtheningl sectional and solidrods of other materia The object of the invention is to provide a simpleand cheap whipping which does not materially add to the weight of a rodand which While attractive in appearance greatly strengthens a rod andincreases its elasticity and the uniformity of its bend.

This invention can be applied to rods made from solid Wood or rods builtup from splints of bamboo and the like g and it resides in a rod whippedwith very thin fiat metal ribbons laid spirally in opposite directions,so as to bind the joints or texture of the rod tightly at shortintervals for its entire length, the ribbons overlying each other, so asto obtain the great strength of a double wrapping and the elasticity ofa spiral and also to produce 3o a pleasing appearance.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings shows a side view of thebutt-section of a rod whipped according to this invention. Fig. 2 showsa greatly-enlarged longitudinal section of a portion of this rod.

The invention is illustrated in connection with the butt-section of arod made from split bamboo, the splints l of which are prepared andglued together in the usual way. After the splints have been gluedtogether if the section is made up of splints, or after the section hasbeen smoothed if it is formed of solid wood, a thin narrow ribbon 2, ofcopper, brass, bronze, or other suitable metal, preferably plated ortreated so as to be noncorrosive and produce a pleasing appearance, iswrapped spirally very tight from one end of the section to the other.Then a similar ribbon 3 is tightly Wound spirally in the oppositedirection from one end of the section to the other. The windings arepreferably so made that the strands will cross each other at equaldistances apart and produce a regular diamond pattern along the rod. Asingle ribbon may be wound in each direction; but it is preferred, as isshown in the drawings, to wind two ribbons in each direction. Theseribbons are very thin and flat, and after they have been tightly woundupon the section of the rod the interstices between them are filled withvarnish 4, as shown in Fig. 2, which varnish is rubbed down, so as toproduce a very smooth surface. This varnish protects the wood and theribbons and also cements the ribbons in position. The spiral windings inopposite directions bind the fibers of the wood or the joints of theAsplints very tightly together, so there is no chance for the wood tocrack or the joints of the splints to split open. The ribbon is verythin and light and does not increase the bulk of the rod nor its weight,and yet it is very strong and is easily protected by varnish. Thewinding of a rod with this tough ribbon adds greatly to its strengthwithout affecting the flexibility of the rod. In fact, a rod wound inthis manner is more flexible and bends With a greater regularity anduniformity of curve than a rod that is whipped in the ordinary way thatis, with silk whi pings at short intervals along the length of tllierod`for with the spiral whippings the tension is uniform the entirelength of the joint and not concentrated at particular localities, aswith the ordinary whipping. It takes less time to apply a whipping ofthis nature, and no cross-whi pings are required, except where thelineguides are fastened.

The invention claimed is- A fishing-rod having its surface whipped withoppositely-extending open spiral coils of thin fiat narrow metal ribbonand having the spaces on the surface of the rod between the ribbonsfilled with varnish whereby the entire surface is smooth and the woodprotected and the ribbons cemented to the wood by the varnish,substantially as specified.

VILLIAM R. WHEELER.

Witnesses:

ETHEL M. LOWE, HARRY R. WILLIAMS.

